Caged Tiger Display at Prom Prompts PETA Action

TeachKind Calls On Christopher Columbus High School to Prohibit Live-Animal Exhibits at Future Events

For Immediate Release:
May 14, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

In response to Christopher Columbus High School’s controversial decision to display a caged tiger and other wild animals at its prom, TeachKind—PETA’s humane education division—sent a letter this afternoon calling on the school’s principal to ban animals from future events.

“Displaying a tiger in a tiny cage and allowing students to handle lemurs is cruel to the animals and dangerous for the students, and it sends the harmful message that living beings are props to be used for human amusement,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “Wild animals aren’t prom decorations, and TeachKind is calling on Christopher Columbus High School to avoid further embarrassment by implementing an immediate ban on live animals at school events.”

Tigers are apex predators and have home ranges of up to hundreds of square miles in nature, but those used for traveling shows are deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them, such as opportunities to roam, climb, hunt, and swim.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—has received a tip that the animals were supplied by Predators Unlimited, the Miami-based operation of Jeremy and Grisel Possman which has been cited for failing to provide animals with safe and secure enclosures and adequate veterinary care, among other violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

TeachKind’s letter is available upon request. For more information, please visit TeachKind.org.